COVENANT’S WELLNESS COMMUNITY

Bird Construction playing a key role in community-based health and wellness project

By Mica Royal

Following Bird Construction’s merger with Stuart Olson in 2020, Covenant Health’s Wellness Community is one project of many that highlights the unique and electrifying synergy resulting from the union of two thriving century-old construction companies. Individually, both entities had successfully secured clients in diverse sectors, bringing an incredible amount of experience, depth, and resources across Canada together when the merger was first announced. Now as ‘One Bird’, with more than 5,000 employees operating in 20 districts across the country, the company covers greater territory with the capability to create specialized teams. What each achieved as separate construction companies are the individual legacies that are now jointly imprinted into each new project since 2020, and the Wellness Community project is one that Bird is excited to leave its ‘new’ fingerprint on.

“Visibility, or a long-standing presence in our industry is one thing, but adding depth in terms of the real value that Bird brings to a project, as well as the relationships we build along the way ... that’s the difference,” says Greg Madziong, vice-president and district manager. “We’re stronger together and that’s something that trickles down to the communities we’re part of.”

To quote Plato, “The part cannot be well unless the whole is well”. As irrelevant as ancient Greek philosophy may seem to the world of construction, there is something to be said about the importance of community and those who are actively involved in creating the kind wherein each person feels valued, and most importantly, seen. Strong, vibrant, and thriving communities have a significant sense of purpose — a sense of purpose that is shared individually and as a collective whole. Within this type of community, there is a place and role for each person, as well as a shared sense of interconnectedness and camaraderie. A thriving community takes care of its members because they are wholly invested in the collective well-being of the group. Most importantly, the most resilient communities are always evolving, adapting to the needs of its members, and becoming stronger in the process.

As one of the pioneers in the Canadian construction industry, Bird is an active participant of this process and understands the myriad of roles involved when it comes to bringing life to vision with architectural and engineering designs. From owners, developers, investors, architects, and engineers to contractors, building users, and community members, each role has meaning and purpose in the bigger picture of ‘community’. When each group understands how their work is connected to others, this adds greater value and an additional layer of meaning to a project. In this respect, a community building becomes more than a steel or wood structure, it becomes a part of the living fabric that supports and sustains the community itself.

Perhaps this sounds wildly abstract or preposterously romanticized, but we only have to look around and take note of the most well-loved buildings in our communities, such as schools, community halls, recreation centres, and the like. Each building was purposely built, creating a special sense of place and continuity for all community members; each being borne out of necessity and then actualized by vision. When we, as members of the construction industry, view construction in this light, we are reminded of our own purpose and contributions as builders of community inasmuch as constructors of wood, steel, and concrete structures.

Of Bird’s many community building projects that embody the sentiment at hand, one project stands out — Covenant Health’s new Wellness Community. Located in the heart of Edmonton’s